Earlier in December Danish companies presented their solutions and expertise to Infrastructure Asia at the Embassy of Denmark in Singapore. Infrastructure Asia is a recently launched Singapore government office dedicated to addressing Asia’s infrastructure gap. This will be done through a combination of concrete infrastructure projects and world-class technical competencies. Sustainable infrastructure opportunities are booming in Southeast Asia, writes the Embassy of Denmark in Singapore.
Infrastructure Asia was launched in October 2018 at 8th Asia-Singapore Infrastructure Roundtable to serve as one-stop platform to facilitate regional infrastructure collaboration
Infrastructure Asia, led by Enterprise Singapore and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, aims to support Asia’s economic and social growth through infrastructure development. It will serve as a bridge for different industry players across the infrastructure ecosystem, multilateral development banks (MDBs) and the public sector, and be a one-stop platform for the information exchange and sharing of best practices in Asia.
At the launch event, Infrastructure Asia signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with the World Bank Group and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) to catalyse project collaboration. Through these MOUs, Infrastructure Asia will organise capacity building workshops with the relevant partners, and step up engagement with local authorities in regional markets and intensify connections with the regional infrastructure ecosystems.
With the growing importance of risk mitigation and its role in increasing bankability of projects, the Ministry of Law announced the Singapore Infrastructure Dispute-Management Protocol1 to help parties involved in mega infrastructure projects manage disputes and minimise the risks of time and cost overruns.
Asia is estimated to face an investment gap of US$460 billion annually for infrastructure, and the bankability of projects remains a challenge. To drive and address some of these gaps, Infrastructure Asia will focus on:
i) Connecting partners in the ecosystem and catalysing collaboration
ii) Building capacity in markets with infrastructure needs through knowledge sharing or training sessions
iii) Providing advice to help improve bankability of projects
“Infrastructure Asia will work closely with the private sector, governments, commercial and multilateral development banks to provide solutions that are customised to meet the local market’s specific needs and requirements. We will also offer advice to relevant countries and work with them on capacity building. With better knowledge, skills and resources, we can improve project feasibility and bankability, enabling project leads to become viable commercial projects,” said Mr Seth Tan Keng Hwee, Executive Director, Infrastructure Asia.
